Amending Leisure
by Paranoid Crack Abuser
Summary: And he, the all-mysterious Shadow the Hedgehog, the creation of Ivo Robotnik that saved the world countless times and kept returning from deaths that were never damned—what did he do when everyone wasn't looking? When he isn't dragged into some stupid world crisis and the world decides to turn their cameras on him? He was here. He just didn't expect her to be here, too.


_Amending Leisure_

* * *

On a night where the air was warm with summer and murky with the settling fog joining the cracked grounds in a coiling thick rope of moist, dampening the floor and the atmosphere with a daunting humidity, a lone hedgehog made his way through the suburban parts of the streets, a more or less scrawnier area where crime was not a stranger. A casting loom settled over his namesake on the round, following him into the clutches of a random pub that filtered the lucid scent of gratifying alcohol.

Shadow the Hedgehog… on his off-hours… what else would he do?

Honestly, the victim of his often well-thought insults and threats spent his off-time in a the leisure of a wooden house of a mastermind fox while consuming that strange dog meat and watching reruns of his own heroic acts or of action movies that played a bunch of fascists holding plastic guns. The fox kit of whom the victim of his often well-though insults and threats spent his off-time _with_ spent his own time building intangible machines and mechanisms with his hero's name on them. The red echidna's past-time was more obvious than anything. The doctor just came up with more and more defective plans to overtake the world. Rouge just sniffed for trouble, harassing pedestrians or robbing banks.

And he, the all-mysterious Shadow the Hedgehog, the creation of Ivo Robotnik that saved the world countless times and kept returning from deaths that were never damned—what did he do when everyone wasn't looking? When he isn't dragged into some stupid world crisis and the world decides to turn their cameras on him?

'_He probably finds a dark alley to wait in, stare mysteriously into the dark, like the dark hero he is. Shadow the Hedgehog, staring at the moon and thinking dark stuff, 'cause he's all dark like that.' _

You couldn't find a bigger load of bullshit.

_**No**_—so when Shadow the Hedgehog wasn't trying to save the world, or aiding in the doctor's plans, or just being mysterious in the background like the shadowy bravado people had labeled him with while Sonic the Fucking Asshole pranced around in front of the flashes, he was here. In a bar.

He pulled in, taking a quiet seat on a stool, tipping his hat lower, keeping his eyes as so. His eyes. His red eyes. His identifier. Sonic the Hedgehog didn't have cruel, evil eyes as red as his.

Screw him.

A pause… and he breathed out as he surveyed an analysis of the room. One must be conscious of his surroundings, especially a being such as him and being who he was… or he just had nothing better to do. A low roofed place, musky, crawling with filth-dwellers and rumbling with the quiet blur of voices melding in cusses or agony caged them. The stools to his left were almost empty, every other being occupying one had at least a four-seat distance between the next chap, and there was one couple of potential prostitutes lounging nearby the center seats, their scrutinizing eyes played to Shadow of their hunt for game enough to score over fifty bucks. To blend in with the whores come the big mutants passing off as beings, and thugs who stabbed you for walking past them, all churning with the heavy scent of sweat, body retentions, and an unmistakable aroma of a symphony of sweet alcohol gave bear as to any other stroll-in-the-slums bar. It wasn't those bars that were clean, or imitated a school-like the PG-13 version of the story, which is somehow how it always flipped as. It was those bars that you knew existed in life, but only existed in your imagination, where it's never as bad as it really is.

"Can I get you something, sir?" His shoulders tensed under the oversized coat, a cliché of something bland and unnoticeable. Making sure to keep his face hidden, a sense of foreboding dread leaked into his gut—he _knew_ that voice—he risked a glance up, surprising himself enough to slack for a moment, for their eyes to meet and he had to confirm.

Her mouth parted a little, and he saw the instant recognition that struck, and he waited. Waited for the yell, or the 'what are you doing here?!' or the whiny 'get out!' or something that he could familiarize himself with. He saw it, too. The flittering curiosity in her eyes, hanging heavily and desperately, and still he waited for a loud response of some sort, even an accusation, but instead, the mouth that had opened for a question let out a rush of air instead of words, pursing tightly as a strange focus settled in her eyes. Squaring her shoulders, she repeated.

"Can I get you something, sir?" He felt a little twitch inside of him, whether of the peculiarity of the situation or the irony that he wished to ask her the same question that she hid from him.

He wanted to laugh, too, except he never really laughed before so he wasn't sure how it felt like or when the timing was. He couldn't even remember her name. He knew that he knew it. It was there, buried somewhere in his mind. He quirked at the crevices, tugging at nostalgic strings to give him acknowledgement or-

_Rose_. Rose. He didn't remember her first name, but he was sure of it—that her last name was Rose. Or she had Rose somewhere in her name.

Maybe.

And he wanted to. He really wanted to ask her—why little Sonic-loving Rose was in front of his in one of the slummiest bars he'd ever been to. The curiosity was nagging him, and he inquisitively studied her, tugging at something habitual to pull to the surface, but she held steady under his gaze, eyes averted, but posture strong.

And she was nervous. He knew she was. He had that effect on people.

He leaned in closer, his breath heavy and eyes intense. Get it over with seemed the better option—or he just wanted that diverted reaction. "Ask me."

Her response shot him with something of curiosity and amusement. A fiery glare narrowed her eyes, and she shifted on her other foot, a strange form of determination and _defiance_ settling over her.

"Can I get you something, _sir_?" Something lit. In her eyes or in his stomach, and he knew it was the way she said it, or something… fervent he found burning under her skin, under that tongue, under that absent sweet voice.

"Ask me." The demand served as a sort of temptation for her, something she adamantly refused to cave into.

"It is within my job restrictions: no invading on the customer's personal life. You answer, but I don't ask." His eyes narrowed, but something of an intrigued grin attempted to poke at his mouth, and perhaps it was because he knew—he knew how bad she wanted to ask him but that she wouldn't let herself succumb to it, and somewhere, somewhere, _somewhere_, he felt something deep within him tip to molten and feverish.

"Look, I have other customers to tend to." Her impatient tone struck something through him, gave him appeasement at her discomfort. For that moment in the night, perhaps which would lead to the hereafter, he had forgotten which Rose she was, or _whose_ Rose she was.

But he wouldn't ask. It wasn't like him to ask. So he wasn't going to. Asking meant he was curious, and asking meant admitting it, so _**no**_, he wasn't going to ask.

And with all that liquor behind her, not even that amount would persuade him…

"One last time with no straight answer and I'm off: _can I get you something, Shadow_?" She frowned, and perhaps she hadn't noticed that she had called his name, but he did. He noticed the way she shifted from one foot to the other, from one hip up to the other down. He noticed the way she bit her lips at her anxiety, and the way she eyed the other corners of the bar, refusing to meet his eyes.

He felt… sick.

"Two shots of tequila; clean." She blinked uncomprehendingly for a moment before turning to leave.

And the sick feeling got heavier.

_Stay…_

She blinked, giving him a peculiar look, and it took him three full seconds to realize he had spoken aloud.

She frowned, "I have a job to do."

His mouth moved before he did. "Why?"

She looked… annoyed. "I need to make a living."

This time he managed to hold himself before anything slipped, and she took her leave. Shadow on his off-hours with nothing better to do… he pondered. He never wondered of Rose's life outside of chasing the blue imbecile. Never really thought of what went beyond what he'd seen.

And it didn't matter to him.

He didn't speak to her for the rest of the night.

* * *

A Tuesday came and he found himself walking back to that bar. It had taken him a while to retrace it, seeing the first time he'd come in it was at random and he had been aimless.

He didn't even know if she worked on Tuesday s.

Okay… okay, he wasn't going to be stupid and lie to his own self. He was curious. He was. Denying it would be like a slap to his intelligence since all he'd been thinking about for the past four days was the fact that he had found Ms. Sunshine working at a grungy bar. At first, despite the calling in his mind where whispers clawed cravings, he avoided even stepping route. Admittedly, by the third day, he was semi-desperate enough to actually go out and scrounge for the blue hedgehog, hoping to catch a glimpse of her and prove that by some illogical aspect he had seen her twin on that night.

And on the fourth he went back to the bar.

_Drunken Alixerson._ It glowed faintly, on the verge of breaking down, but there he stood before the sign. The front was littered with garbage, but that was merely the disposition of the neighborhood. He being himself, he was the one people feared to run into on streets like these.

She, though…

It wasn't like he had that much of a frigid persona devoid of any emotion. He had loved a human girl once. He was capable of that, and he understood that he came off as hostile. Why wouldn't he? All these humans and disgusting creatures… none of them were like the Maria he had grown up with. These organisms spat on the image that was his Maria, and it sickened him. Their ugliness, their flaws—all absent of the things Maria was and what she believed in them.

And purpose, reason—he had filled them for his existence being, so what now? _What fucking now?! _

Nothing. He was empty.

And this—this curiosity, this sick, warm, alien feeling filled him with something. So he latched onto to it.

Hell, it wasn't like he had anything better to do. He really didn't.

And with that, he stepped into the bar.

* * *

How many hours had he already spent here—five? Six?

Much would scoff about his lack of a life, but everything they would say would be _true_, so no point on even dwelling on it.

Of course, the fact that she didn't work on these nights came to mind much every couple of two to three seconds, and he tried to convince himself to leave, he really did. Find a nicer bar or prowl the alleys or something, but instead he sat in his seat on the stool on the far end, and in the most manner that he was insulting himself over, sulked.

By this time and hour, there was no way she'd even come to work, but he didn't budge anyway.

Behind the bar, a rough cough hacked with a thick cake of previous disposals of cheap cigarettes sounded loudly; a thick, bulky, meaty character of some sort cleaning the glasses with an unsanitary cloth. "Man, I can't tell if you're being held up by a needy hooker or you're getting' cheaped out of some desperate deal."

Shadow glared at the man, the irritation of having waited hours in a dirty bar, or more out of his frustration over the every second mental beatings and ponderings, giving him an edge enough to respond. "I thought it was your policy to stay out of customer business."

Usually, with the way he hissed, the way he looked, or the obvious malicious aura he gave off, people backed down or just avoided him. This dumb shot at luck wore this sadistic sort of grin, like he was enjoying a game of poker with a heady reward and cards that smiled at him.

A humorous chortle came as an answer; the man talking more to himself. "Policy? You think we have that sort of shit in 'ere? That's not a policy, it's a _warning_. Don't ask so you don't get punched in the face."

The guy leaned closer, his eyes squinting into a mocking glare, "Obviously, I've got an iron jaw for that stuff."

Shadow wasn't in the mood. "Go away."

"Feelin' up to pickin' on my customers." Beady eyes challenged him, "You're that twin of the blue one, yeh?"

It wasn't the first time he was accused of this, but he was Shadow the fucking Hedgehog, and he didn't take shit from people—especially filthy humans like this guy.

His fist smashed the wooden countertop as he prepared himself to correct every aspect that this human spilled in absolute deprecation against the very moralized idea that the sweet Maria thought humans to have in light of qualities where assholes like these men repeatedly grinded their feet upon.

And then his hand was warm, and a spare gloved appendage covered his own. "Cut it out, will you? _I'll_ take care of this."

His eyes met hers, a militant green, and in the slums of the city, in a grungy old bar at 2:43 A.M, Shadow felt something he never took the liberty to notice before.

His heartbeat.

One did not stop and take in the ever repetitive beat of his heart, for if he was checking it then surely he was alive. In battle, he'd felt his heart quicken and thump wildly. In nocturne, he was sure it slowed down in rest. These things happened, and he was aware of them, so he never bothered to entertain the thought of anything relating so.

But this was different, because his heart didn't slow down like before that callings of unconsciousness or speed up in hollers to adrenaline. To fucking hell, it actually _stopped_. He was sure of it. For that small second, that continuing thump decided to take a leave of absence and he _felt_ it. He felt it in a way that he could have never felt more strongly about something.

"I won't apologize for his behavior, because that would just be pointless, right?" She gave him a half-hearted smile, and the sudden breeze was noticeable at the leave of her hand. "Can I get you anything?"

He stared blankly at her, not giving away any thought with whatever emotion he could pass on.

She blinked, giving him pause before settling for a scowl. "Then don't mind me, but I have to attend to other customers."

"Why?" He let the question slip, but if he got an answer that would satisfy his nagging curiosity then he wouldn't regret asking.

Because having the sweet Amy Rose who loved Sonic more than the world and battled alongside her friends and had tea parties with little Cream was not supposed to be working in some dirty bar in the hours past appropriate.

"It's none of your business." She snapped stiffly with a flare of anger to sear his fur.

And she was right. He knew that. He had finished concluding that fact around day two, but still, he wondered.

And since he couldn't come up with a decent response, he settled for watching her for the rest of the night till morning well rose.

* * *

"You're not old enough to be licensed to give out alcohol." He stated apathetically.

The glare she gave him was murderous. "Mind your own business."

He made a point to scrutinize her the rest of night, finding something sickly heartwarming at her irritation.

* * *

"There are much better bars, you know." She commented off-handedly, cleaning jugs with a just and hygienic hand. It was another week on another day that Shadow had come to visit this bar again, and a three week attendance record was enough for her to stop evading him and giving him proper chat.

He considered her remark for a moment, "I know."

Her eyebrows furrowed; more in confusion than distaste. "You come here too often to not have the money to afford a better drink at a better place."

"Hn."

"Then…" She might've asked, but she stopped herself.

And for the fact that he had absolutely nothing to do in the world, and that he found her interesting, for the second time he encouraged someone to question in regard to know him better.

"Ask me." He urged softly.

"I'm not sure I-"

He interrupted her with a comment he would have usually kept in his mind, had he been on the side where he didn't want the person to continue whatever stupid conversation the being had attempted to press them with, which here was not the case. Shadow understood the morals of socializing; he just never liked applying them because he didn't like people. It was a simple, crude fact, but it was just the way Shadow was.

Amy was different though. He was curious about her, and so he put those nascent skills to use.

"Job policies be damned. Ask me." This one actually got him a surprised look, right before a straight-up laugh. He wasn't sure why she was laughing, or whether her laugh was in the matter of insulting him. He couldn't decide. Not while his chest tightened strangely like this. He was worried his blood vessels might be clotting or his lungs must have not corresponded with his diaphragm causing a collapse or perhaps he was suffering a heart attack.

"What?" He snapped, and she drowned her laugh into a bubbly giggle.

"No, it's just…" She shrugged, "I've never really talked to you before, so it's just strange to be talking to you of all people like this."

He would've given her some snarky remark, but she froze his veins with the grin she gave him. Such a pretty smile…

"Hmph." He felt his face heating up, and in an effort to hide his embarrassment he abruptly turned around, but for the life of him he couldn't figure out why the stupid girl was still laughing.

This wasn't like him—to feel so funny. He should've known digging himself into something other than his own would affect him in some way.

But this wasn't about the fact that he was feeling funny, or that she was laughing at him, or that he wasn't acting like his usual self. Shadow had been alone for so long. So _long_.

And for that lengthy time, so many things had happened. He had driven into the darkness and back, his purpose had been questioned, his identity had been asked to fraud, and in the end he was left with nothing. Empty.

And this—this was different. This was _**something**_, and that was all the reason to hold onto and never let go.

"Alright then…" She placed the jug down, catching his eye. "Why do you come here, Shadow?"

And because she said his name and made his chest flare, he answered her honestly, "Because you're here."

She blinked, her face suddenly taking resemblance to a delicate wine, "Wh-_**what**_?!"

He blinked, a sense of confusion poking at him, wondering why she was reacting like that.

She slapped her hands on her cheeks, burying her face from him. "E-ehh, _Shadow_! Don't say such embarrassing stuff like that!"

Despite his confusion, he found himself feeling… amused. "Why not? I was being truthful."

She went even redder, sputtering profusely. "B-but! Ahh… well…"

She peered at his face through her lashes, scratching her cheek as she tried to off-handedly dismiss the red from her cheeks, "Wh…Why would you come here because of _m-me_?"

And so his honesty shone. "Because I want to know why you work in a place like this."

She blinked, opened her mouth, closed it, and opened it again. "…is that all?"

He found himself even more curious, "Should there be more?"

She shook her head, looking at him in a sort of… relief? "No, it's just… you had me worried for a little while there."

"Why?"

And then she wore a strange look, shaking her head and giving off an even stranger smile. "You should choose your words more carefully. I didn't have to want to turn down anyone because of Sonic."

He was even more confused, and just a little bit spiteful that the blue hedgehog wormed his way into their conversation, but was stopped as she began speaking once more.

"Why do you even want to know so badly?" She smiled amusedly, leaning over the bar a bit.

Oh, he'd asked himself the same question many times, so he was prepared to answer her. "I don't know."

She blinked—not the answer she was expecting, but since this was Shadow, and she knew this wasn't like him; to be without reason or purpose, so she told him.

"I work here because I need the money." She stated, as if that simple sentence explained all.

"That's not informative enough." He scoffed. "Don't play this stupidly."

She glared at him, but answered him anyway, leaning back as she stretched her arms. "My mother died when I was young and my father ran off on me a couple of years ago, and he left me with nothing. No relatives and no money. I can't go to school since I barely have enough to keep myself up, so I have to work a couple of low-budget occupations to keep a roof over my head and eat every once in a while."

His face must've been playing on an incredulous field, but she frowned at him for his dubiousness. "I'm being serious."

"But… the mayor—with saving the day, shouldn't you…" She shook her head, interrupting him.

"No, _Sonic_ is the one who gets the gifts and money. Tails, too, occasionally. I'm only a side-liner, so my reward is praise. When I'm not helping Sonic save the day, then I have to work here and there." She shrugged nonchalantly, "The cost for living isn't free, you know."

There could've been a million other reasons why Amy was working in a crappy bar. She stumbled here by accident and got herself into some trouble, she was doing undercover labor, or she had a fetish to dirty old bars. It honestly never occurred to him that Amy worked here because she _needed_ to. She always seemed so carefree and happy on the outside, holding her fist high amongst her allies—so full of energy and not a bother in the world.

He had once envied her blithe state in life. She always seemed… _seemed_…

He never knew…

His silent thoughts were interrupted as a small, attention-attracting beep resounded, and he followed the source to Amy's watch. 9:15 A.M

"Alright, I'm getting off!" She announced to her fellow workers, although the bar itself was empty save for him and this other passed out man in a corner.

He waited, watching as she escaped to the back in a slightly dirty white blouse and ruffled jeans to her accustomed laser red dress with accessories and all.

She seemed to get the idea that he was waiting on her, so she paused as she was leaving to let him catch up.

"So what do you have planned for today?" She questioned, quite cheerfully for someone who had been working for six hours into the morning.

"What do _you_ have planned for today?" They stepped outside into the bright sun, both hedgehogs a little disoriented from being in a dimly lit room. Stepping onto the cracked sidewalk, Amy began her trek, allowing Shadow to keep a lazy pace beside her.

"Well…" She checked her watch, "I've got another half-hour before I have to head to my next job, so I was hoping I could stop and say hello to Sonic."

He wasn't sure how to respond to that, so he didn't. Perhaps he should've turned the other direction, but he kept his feet in sync with hers. Besides, despite the morning, the streets here could still be pretty hazardous.

"This neighborhood is too dangerous to walk through, especially at the hours you work at." He stated suddenly. She tensed a little, pulling at her dress.

"Yes, well… it can't be helped. The pay here isn't so bad. At least, this bar is too low on the chart for a cop to be scurrying and wondering why someone my age is handing out alcohol. There aren't many jobs available for someone like me, especially since I don't have an education or much else to offer. So I just make the best of it." She skipped over a rock, grinning a bit, but her smile faded a little as a thought passed through her head.

"Can we… can we not mention this to… to Sonic? Or anyone else for the matter?"

He felt a blender of sensations, and admittedly, not all were very positive. He just felt… affected. He stopped in his tracks. She froze, a sudden fear for his anger or something rash of the sort from him emerging.

"No… no one else knows… about this?"

A little shakily, she answered. "N-no…"

"… Why would you tell _me_ then?"

Good question. "I… I'm not sure."

They stood in silence, and Amy pondered worriedly over what was going through the black hedgehog's mind. The response she got was not something she had been expecting.

"It's settled, then." He gave a curt nod, to himself or to her, she wasn't sure. "I'll be escorting you from now on."

"…what?" She gave him an alien look.

"The streets are obviously too dangerous, especially in the late hours you work in, so from now on, I'll be taking you to and from your jobs."

"…You're kidding, right?" She blinked, giving him a wry smile, before a moment's while passed and the stern look on his face refused to lift, "…holy rings, you're not kidding."

He lifted a brow at her, and she frowned dispersedly.

It was going to take a decent argument to get herself out of this one.

* * *

"Sonic! Sonic!" From a distance, he watched as she bellowed cheerfully at the blue hedgehog, fruitlessly trying to wrestle a hug out of him.

Amy… on her off hours from the camera.

It's been about three months since his strange, aberrant twist in his standard life with his decision to look over the small pink hedgehog. It turned out for the better, supposedly, and in a sort of way, gave him resolve for a purpose, one that strengthened and consolidated by the day.

Amy Rose's life was not the one you would expect.

She spent long hours at a bar, two brand-less clothing store, and a fast-food joint just to make money to keep up rent and food (apparently, as a candidate of her age and stature, they would never hire her unless she put up with the ridiculously low wage, but given her poor situation, she didn't have much of a choice.). She barely ever had enough sleep, and should eat more than the juggle she put up with. She often had to walk between dangerous streets, with nothing but the protection of the clothes on her back (and a hammer, so she claims.). Her bosses were often assholes, and had no consoles with treating young Amy Rose with the crap they spouted. She had no future, whatsoever, and in most words, her life was going nowhere.

But she never let go of that smile.

Despite all the hopelessness and despondency in her state of life, Amy Rose still found the will to hold up her head and smile a smile that brightened the sun and warmed the day.

Never in his life here on this fucked up planet had he ever met someone so incredibly _stupid_, yet so full of faith that despite the everlasting bleakness resounding with every step she took, she still found the tenacity to smile at others.

To not be corrupt by bitterness or misery, to be so strong like that, a respect he'd never known blossomed under his chest, and with that came this overwhelming protectiveness that he could not rid himself of—nor control.

It had taken her a while to get used to his presence looming over her shoulder, but as proved with the rest of her progress in life, she did not dwell on things that caused her inconvenience or discomfort and made an effort to make the best of his ever shadowing existence.

"You can't run from me forever, Sonic!" He heard her laugh merrily as she made an attempt to chase him as he ran away. What a regular scene, though. Amy would always attempt to catch Sonic, although she just wasn't fast enough.

If they only knew.

It wasn't a factor of speed, as most would think because no one could ever really catch Sonic the Hedgehog, in spite of Amy Rose's foolish attempts to do so, but it never was a factor of speed.

It was the weight of having to work seventeen repetitive hours a day with so little rest. No one can just shrug off fatigue. Not even Amy.

He watched her intently as she walked back to him, the widest grin on her face.

He didn't understand.

Almost every day, she took one of those hours that she could have been using for rest, and used them to track down Sonic. For the life of him, he couldn't understand why she would waste such precious time to find the blue idiot and hassle him. Still, she did whenever she could. She'd find him and hide her worries and smile merrily and offer him time Shadow _knew_ she _needed_, and every time he'd grin nervously at her and run off, disposing of that precious while she had just spent on him and rendering it worthless, and the thought and sight of the whole ordeal made Shadow's blood boil.

"_Why bother?" He asked her, peering curiously as she stood in front of a mirror in the bathroom of some random restaurant. _

_With careful precision, she pulled out jarred contents, each filled with strange powder and mashed goo of sorts, and with each its own utility, she began dabbing the likes under her eye, hiding away the heavy bags like magic. _

"_Because…" She held such focus as she applied the make-up, most of which was self-made, or so he was told, but given the fact that she probably couldn't afford make-up, he believed her. "…it makes me happy."_

"_Why in all that is logical would wasting living moments on that blue idiot give any sort of pleasure?" She smiled in the mirror._

"_It's not meant to be logical when it's love, Shadow." He frowned at that._

"_Then why love him?"_

_She sighed, giving him an exasperated look. "I just do."_

_He pressed further. "There has to be __**reason**__." _

"_He's heroic." She brushed away at her hair, fixing her headband in place. _

"_He doesn't seem to be the hero in your story." She scowled precariously at him. _

"_Don't drag him into that. I don't want Sonic to know because if he did then he'd be all over me, trying to help me." _

_He shifted against the wall, not even blinking as another woman entered the bathroom, only to catch sight of the frightening male and scurry out in a scream, and since Amy didn't seem fazed or complain or even pay mind to it, he lounged around in the women's washroom with her. "What's so bad about that?"_

"_I don't __**want**__ help. Besides, Sonic's attracted to damsels in distress. I'd have his attention for all the wrong reasons."_

_He didn't press on that any further. Amy was too stubborn, especially on being independent. She wouldn't even let him help her, although she didn't mind him buying her an occasional meal. _

"_Another reason." _

"_Alright…" she thought for a moment, wiping a purple cream of sorts on her cheeks. "…he cares about his friends."_

"_Enough that he runs away every time you latch onto him." She frowned. _

"_Sonic's just bad with romance and affection." She scrubbed her face with white powder. "Why is this topic in question?"_

"_I'm trying to make sense of this illogical occurrence." She paused for a moment, her face turning to him with this soft expression that made his heart lurch._

"_He makes me smile, and that's what makes me come back to him."_

* * *

He watched as she pulled out a jar, cramming the wrinkled money into it in a collection of other accumulated spare change.

"What are you doing?" She sat on the futon, shifting a bit as she pulled more out of her pocket and stuffed it into the jar.

"Saving up."

He switched legs from his position on the wall, leaning against the hard wood of the small one room cottage he built himself in the preceded case of heavy weather where he'd take provision from.

Yet, since this was the closest thing to 'home' he had, Amy insisted on coming here.

And to be honest, in a small act of cowardice, he was a little worried what he might do if he saw where Amy lived, and he worried what she'd do after seeing his reaction.

Would she kick him out? Force him to leave? Tell him to never see her again?

These things bothered him more than they should, and they shook him straight to the core in the form of icy, rattling chains.

It was best to just let her decide to visit his home till the time came when she wanted to show him hers.

"For _what_?"

"It'll be December soon enough, and a lot of the folks here celebrate Christmas, so it's fun to get in on the action. I need to save up so I can buy everybody gifts." She stated so simply, oblivious to how contrary he felt at that moment.

Anger. Anger was the most prominent. This hot, white, fury that drove him in the cold days of October—a side of him he simply couldn't control, and would probably regret revealing to her.

"You… You _**idiot**_!" His venomous hiss surprised her so much she almost dropped the jar. "How can you be so incredibly _**stupid**_?! So beyond, insanely thoughtless to the point of even deciding to waste your money on such an idea! How could you even _think_ of buying _other_ people **gifts** when you can barely hold yourself up?! You could be using the money for more food, or a better home, or-…" His voice died out as he watched fat tears spill out of her eyes, and this clawing, terrible, utterly wretched sensation assaulted at his chest mercilessly, a feeling of guilt he never so heavily experienced before.

And that fear. He saw it in her eyes, and it crushed him in a way he didn't think possible. His ribs squeezed around his lungs, tightening to a point he sure he'd explode.

And her pain. Something he swore upon himself of which he just broke. He was supposed to keep her from that, supposed to make sure she always smiled that beautiful smile an-

His heart stopped. He was dead, no question about it. He wasn't breathing anymore.

Oh, no wait. He couldn't breathe because Amy was kissing him.

And _oh dear lord she was kissing him and she was so soft and he didn't know what to do-_

She pulled back, an alien expression on her face. She refused to meet his eye, and she smelled of cinnamon and roses and he realized she was silent out of guilt and he didn't know what else to do so he pulled her by the shoulders and kissed her too.

Although, he really didn't know _what_ he was supposed to do so he just hugged her tighter until she whimpered against his lips and out of worry he pulled back and searched her face.

"Are… you alright?"

Her face held puzzlement, any trace of tears pulled way back.

"Me? I'm…" She huffed out breathily, her eyes never a brighter green than at this moment. "I'm… umm… I'm _fine_."

She brushed the hair out of her eyes and looked away with a blush that poured warmth into Shadow. He didn't know what was happening. He could still smell her. Her fur was warm and she was _so close_ and he didn't want to let her go.

"You… umm… you kissed me back…?" She would not meet his gaze and it bothered him. He tilted his head towards her and caught her eye, and somehow the heat on her cheeks deepened and Shadow worried she might be sick.

"Is…" This was foreign territory to him. He wasn't sure how to respond. "Is that bad?"

"_Bad_!" Amy choked on a laugh and gave him a nervous smile. "Yes, it's bad but no-we-you-you were supposed to get angry and umm… run off and I…"

"I was supposed to get angry… and leave?" He wondered what his face looked like at the moment.

"Well, yes! I didn't expect you to kiss me back!" She finally looked into his eyes and saw the hurt and confusion there and so she put her hands on his cheeks and mumbled whiningly, "I didn't think I'd like it so much, either… of all people, you're _Shadow_ for crying out loud."

And she couldn't help herself so she kissed him again and he couldn't help himself so he pulled her close.

"Is that bad?" He pulled away but she cut him off by yanking him back to her.

"It's… not _bad_." She somehow got through between openings of air, and in such intensity at the moment, soon she was being dominated by him and she had to grab onto his shoulders just to keep herself up as his kisses backed her into the wall. "But…"

She stopped him, taking note of how breathless he was and how red his cheeks were and she wondered if she reciprocated him. "I thought that if kissed you, you'd get angry at me and leave."

He would have interpreted that as to her wanting him to leave, but even he knew enough that the tugging of her arms, pulling him to her, spoke otherwise. "Why would you want me to go?"

"Because…" She pulled him closer and closer, something unfamiliar blossoming under her chest, right at her throat, pouring molten fuzz into her stomach. His fur was velvety and she pressed her cheek against him, feeling suddenly if she looked him in the eye she'd break down.

How did it unexpectedly become like this in a span of _minutes_? She had been fine before that, but now she had a consciousness of the things she'd say, fearful of scaring him away.

But that's what she had wanted to, wasn't it?

"Look… look at how _upset_ I make you. I never wanted _you_ of all people to be miserable because of me and-"

Shadow didn't whether to kill her and hit her upside the head so he settled for kissing her instead because he had started to crave it.

"You are so _stupid_." He breathed out, tucking her beneath him, and at the feel of him all she could do was try to pull him closer. Her arms snaked around his neck, her face buried in his shoulder. "What am I going to do with you…?"

He looked at the fire blazing in the hearth, leaking heat into them and burning with such ferocity. "It upsets me that you'd even think of spending for others when you need the money more than anyone. You could use it for something so much more-"

"I _know_ that, Shadow," Her felt the heat of her breath pulse against his neck and found himself unable to stop the shiver that ran down his body. "and I can't expect you to understand, but doing this makes me happy. Really happy. I love saving up and finding things for my friends and giving it to them and knowing all my hard work was well spent if I could use it to make _them_ happy. To me, it's worth so much more than another night with a meal."

She placed a hand on his chest, interrupting him from whatever he was going to say, "And I _know you can't understand that_. We're such different people… but doing this makes me feel more alive than that meal ever would. I don't need to live forever, but I want to have _lived_."

He stayed silent and just settled for holding her because he knew in her stubborn ways, nothing would deter her from her views.

"Idiot…" He gave out in a last retort and he felt her smile against him.

* * *

Shadow lay awake on the mattress, holding the small Amy Rose. She slept soundly, molding against him beneath the blankets and he pulled her closer out of a sudden, irrational fear that she'd dissipate right in front of him.

What an idiotic thing to feel right?

It was physically impossible for her to evaporate, but still his brain attacked him with scenarios where she'd be gone and his heart would be sent into a cataclysmic panic attack and he pulled her close just to convince himself she was still there.

Still…

Something had to be done about this problem. This financial issue.

Such a weird thing to be thinking about in a world of adventures and carefree runs, but in those worlds they always managed to leave out the rest—that the pedestrians get hurt when the buildings are destroyed. That someone has to pay the damages. That for one person's gain, another had to lose.

Amy Rose was too proud to let him give her money and out of loyalty and trust to her he didn't tell anyone else of her situation.

He didn't know. He didn't know.

And more than anything it bothered him because he was utterly useless—useless as when he couldn't save Maria.

He leaned in closer until he could smell her and tighter until he was sure she'd never be able to escape. Curling the blanket around her, she sighed beautifully in her sleep, rubbing her head against his chest where something outlandish and wonderful bloomed, and just the same did his tenacity strengthen.

He'd be damned if he let anything happen to Amy.

* * *

Amy tried to contain her giggle, but still it broke through. His angry glare just furthered her laugh.

"No, no, I'm sorry!" She giggled as he reached out under the counter and poked her ribs, but due to her limited amount of space she didn't have anywhere to hide. "It's just… well, it's so cute!"

"Cute?" He snapped, but her cheeks flushed with radiance and he couldn't hold irritation.

"It's just I _never_ _knew_, and I could just image you in a library with glasses-"

"Glasses? You're being stereotypical."

"-with your nose buried in that Harry Potter-"

"You're making fun of me." Although Shadow didn't realize it, he tended to pout at these moments, and nothing was more adorable than the sight. Quickly checking to see no one was looking, she slipped him a kiss on the cheek.

"I think it's great that you love that stuff." She whispered, and in the bright light of the diner, her eyes twinkled mirthfully and Shadow wanted to touch her. He seemed to want to touch her a lot nowadays.

Her eyes diverted for a moment, and she mumbled, "Alright, my shift is almost off. I brought a basket so we could have lunch. Take me to the park?"

Her pleading eyes were endearing, and he found it funny that she still asked him as if he could deny her.

"Of course." He mumbled softly and she smiled lovingly.

"I left it in the back. Could you get it while I take care of this last one?" He nodded and she waved him off as she pulled out her notepad and called out cheerfully.

"Hi! Can I get yo-" She froze because he froze because his eyes caught hers and she knew those eyes anywhere.

"A… _Amy_?" His mouth was open and she felt nausea hit her with a punch to the gut.

"So… S-Sonic." She trembled as she broke out his name and she had never felt such a horrid, hot sickening feeling of _shame_.

How could she let him see her like this?

"You-ahh! What are you-? _Amy_?" He eyed her dirty attire and her bag-riddled eyes, and if it hadn't been for the distinguishable pink fur and those laser red boots he would have never recognized her.

"Ay, Pinky! Stop holdin' yer shit up back there and finish 'er work!" The stocky woman shrieked at her from across the diner and Amy bowed her head in utter mortification, settling for observing her shoes and having pain stab at her spine at seeing his gleaming red ones.

"Umm-I-uhh-I can't-" she couldn't put her words together and she couldn't stand looking at him and she couldn't breathe so she ran.

She had been incredibly lucky as she happened to catch him off guard in his moment of shock and bolted out of there, ignoring her boss's cries and wishing for nothing more than a rock to crawl under. Otherwise he might just have caught up to her.

She wanted Shadow.

Now. There was no one else who would be able to settle her, to calm her right now. No one else who's arms could comfort her and shield her from the rest of the world. No one else who held her hand tight and pulled her to the summit. She wanted Shadow.

She _needed_ Shadow.

"Amy, Amy!" She didn't realize she had run into him but she did and he dropped the basket and held onto her tight as she sobbed into him.

"He saw me he saw me he saw me-oh **God**, _Shadow_, he _saw_ me!" She blubbered hysterically and so he pulled her away from the free sidewalk and into a narrow, empty alley and he held her there and didn't say a word till her tears finally dried out.

She clung tightly to him and he held her securely and listened to her pathetic sniffles and breathed her in.

"It's alright." He finally said.

She burst in the way he knew she would, "No, it's not! He _saw_ me!"

He nodded gravely, "He saw you and now he knows."

She choked on a laugh and pulled back enough to look at him, giving him a fiery glare under red eyes and a glossy film of fresh tears. "_What are you trying to say?"_

He lifted his hand, brushing her cheek, taking satisfaction in her shuddered intake of breath. "Now he knows who Amy Rose really is."

"And that's _bad_!" She wailed.

He pinched her cheek and raised an eyebrow at her yelp. "Now why on Earth would you say that?"

She glared at him and crystal tears ran anew and so he gathered her back up and sighed. Rubbing his thumb across her eye, "Would you rather have continued _lying_ to him?"

"L-_lying_?" She hiccupped.

He breathed deeply, wisdom leaking into his eyes in his sagely ways. "By making him think otherwise of what really was, you were lying to him. He doesn't know you and you can't expect him to like Amy Rose if he doesn't know who Amy Rose _is_."

She hiccupped silently and gazed it him with far-away thoughts. Finally, she spoke her fears, "And what if he doesn't like me? What if _they_ don't want to be with me anymore?"

Too much love for her friends—typical Amy Rose. But then again, in all honesty, she was still just a child…

"Amy…" He exasperated, tucking her head underneath his. He sighed on her little pink ears and smiled a little when they twitched. "If they really love you back, then something like this won't matter to them. If it really does change them, then they weren't worth loving at all."

The sun had set after a while and still he held her and it was after all that time when he had begun to think she had dozed off did she finally speak.

"You know, for someone as antisocial as you, you know a lot."

He smiled warmly, only for her, and she kissed him because somehow she knew that nothing else would sate this gnawing itch in her heart.

She pulled back, crushing her bangs between their foreheads. "You'll be there with me."

"Every step of the way." He breathed back, and Amy blushed radiantly under the purple of the night. She fretted that she was falling a little too deep, and decided it was okay because it was him.

* * *

The Christmas party glowed with warmth and the smell of cookies. Everyone laughed merrily and had a great time.

Amy, too, had a great time trying to avoid Sonic, which she was having trouble doing as she was always the one doing the chasing while he had been the avoider. He was quite good at following her and she decided to take up some notes from memory of his ways of diverging from her. She could compare the experience to slamming her head in a microwave.

It would have been successful, too, if she hadn't tripped over a passed out Vector (who had one too many cups of eggnog), and knocked straight into someone.

For one dreaded moment, she believed it was Sonic but then she saw tuft chest fur and no one but her Shadow had fur as white as that.

"Thank God." She breathed, brushing her quills out of her eyes. His gaze was intense as he checked her, and just as instantaneously he knew what she had been doing. Of course he knew. How was it that he was conveniently there? _No_, he wasn't a stalker, but… he cared about her, so following her was justified.

"You can't have expected to come here and not be questioned by him. He'd by filled with curiosity." His eyes were alit. "I would know."

She peered up at him desperately, "I know, but… but it's _him_. It's _Sonic_. It's different."

His eyes narrowed, and maybe more angrily than he intended he snapped out, "What makes him different?"

She rubbed her hands down his arms, taking a hold of his hands, "I don't know. When it was with you… I don't know; I _knew_ I could trust you. I felt okay telling you. I didn't have to hide these things from you."

She squeezed his hands and smiled when he returned it. Her eyes searched the mass of people, flitting from one head to another, "But with Sonic, he was my hero. I looked up to him. I chased him for years. I don't know if I'd be able to handle his reaction."

She exhaled loudly and looked back to him, taking in his controlled gaze, and saw that there was something to be controlled. "Shadow?"

He looked away, but she would have none of it. She placed her hands on his cheeks, forcing him to look at her as she straitened on her tip-toes and leaned on him. "If you don't want me to hide from you, then don't you dare hide from me. What's bothering you?"

He wasn't good with emotions, and this was driving him insane, and if her eyes hadn't been so beautiful and intense he might've been able to avoid telling her.

But she trusted him, so in turn, he somehow gave her his. "You don't… you don't still… with Sonic…?"

Despite the cut off meaning, Amy Rose understood. She had spent almost every day for the last couple of months with Shadow the Hedgehog. It hadn't been an easy task, but she learned to read him. The way his eyebrows furrowed, the difference between a scowl and an invisible smile; she began to notice these things. In turn, she began to understand him—the way he was silent because he preferred to observe, the way he was anti-social was because he only talked to people he thought were worth getting to know—people he knew Maria would like.

Amy Rose learned who Shadow the Hedgehog was.

Shadow the Hedgehog was not some epic, dark hero who spent hours staring at the moon and hiding in the shadows and coming to help Sonic at the end of the day as reconciliation towards Maria.

Shadow the Hedgehog was a person. A created person, but a person nonetheless. He liked eating peaches and watching the Discovery Channel. In his free time he had a habit of picking up young adult adventure books and anything made by Agatha Christie. He hated the snow, had a very deep love for wet grass, and strongly worshiped his shoes and took great care in keeping them clean and updated.

And on his off-hours, he talked with Amy Rose.

He had done so much for her—_had become so much to her_ that Amy wanted to poke herself in the eye for ever making him feel Sonic took place over him.

Sonic was special to Amy. He always was, and he always would be. Sonic was the hero who saved the day and she loved him for it.

But this was Shadow. Sonic could never catch up to him, even at his speed.

"No, not like this." She leaned her forehead against his, eyes catching the wet gleam of his lips, and she made the biggest mistake of looking into his eyes and tripping into it and somehow she knew she'd never crawl out. "Nothing like this."

How had it gotten like this so fast…?

"A… Amy…" Yes, that _would have_ been the point where they locked their newfound feelings in a promised lip-lock, but Sonic with his amazing timing had finally caught up to Amy.

"_Amy_!" She jumped, almost tripping over herself (again) had Shadow not been there to steady her(again). Whirling around, she caught the surprised look on the blue hedgehog's face, but more than that, she realized that he'd never let her go till he knew.

"S… Sonic." She breathed shakily, and her hand found Shadow's firm grip, and she used that as her foothold. "I don't _want_ to tell you."

Sonic blinked, having whatever shock he held at seeing her with Shadow eaten by the nagging curiosity that had been threatening to swallow him whole ever since that moment.

She breathed deeply and stepped forward, "But I will."

Sonic knew something was very, very wrong.

* * *

He didn't know what to say—didn't think there was anything to say, really. For one moment he observed the others and he believed he shared their expression.

_What was he supposed to say?!_

They never knew.

_They never knew._

But… this was _Amy_! Amy Rose who chased him every day and joined him in battles and screamed proclamations of undying love to him. How could they have not known?! How could _he_ not have known?!

It never once occurred to him to question whether Amy would have parents or have a job or have a home or need to be fed every day. One didn't think about these things. He never knew that she had a mother who died and a father who abandoned her, never knew that she walked the streets without an inkling of money, never knew that she went home to a barren, run-down house in a horrible neighborhood, never knew that sometimes she went nights without food and sometimes used the newspapers, newspapers where _he_ was proudly displayed on as hero and given gifts and riches, as blankets to shield herself from the cold.

It-It was _Amy Rose _for crying out loud!

All this time-!

He might've never been able to believe it if he hadn't seen her that day; heavy bags and dirty clothes and matted fur and fatigue like he'd never known. After she ran out of the diner he wasted a moment in pure shock before he ran after her, only he never found her. He went back into the diner and asked the lady of Amy, who responded with a delightful: "Well, that shitstain don't work here _anymore_. Not after running out on the job _like that_."

Sonic wasn't a normally a rude person, but he made the purposeful habit of zooming out quickly and sending tables flying in his forceful rush. He took satisfaction in the loud woman's bellow and took an approving glance at the mess of chairs and food before running off.

After that, he obsessed looking for her, trying to go to her home until he realized he didn't know where it was and searching for her in places he usually found her. He had thought to himself _'tomorrow she'll come running after me and tell me this was all a joke.'_

But then she didn't come the next day. She didn't run after him. He waited in the cold, freezing weather of early December and didn't even get a holler of _'I love you, Sonikkuuu~!'_ He searched amongst Tails, Knuckles, Cream—everyone he knew that even remotely knew Amy, and he was a bit surprised, and overly frustrated, that none of them knew of anything Amy did in her free time aside from chasing him. They assumed that was all she did.

Admittedly, he assumed that was all she did, too. He honestly never considered and simply believed she did nothing apart from the walls of chasing him. He didn't think of what she did when it was time to eat. She just ate, didn't she? He didn't ponder over where she slept, assuming it was some warm, cozy, pink home. He didn't ask where her income came from. He never wondered if she studied or what she did during the day or what she liked to do in her free time (aside from chasing him.).

No one knew where she was. The only lucky shot he got was when he asked Rouge, and she mildly pointed out that Shadow might have a clue.

He had wanted to laugh. _Shadow_! Shadow might know?! Sonic didn't even bother categorizing him as people who remotely knew Amy in the first place.

"_Well, he has been going off a lot lately." Rouge absentmindedly spoke as she worked with her mascara. _

"_Pssschyeah, but he's __**Shadow**__. He's always off doing something mysterious in the shadows or whatever." Sonic crossed his arms, a bad mood overtaking him out of dissatisfaction of everyone's failure to deliver. _

_Rouge didn't give much sign that she was paying attention. "Yeah, well, he doesn't let me come into his house anymore." _

"_What does that have to do with Amy?" He scoffed. Rouge rolled the mascara back into its holder with a 'click' and turned to face him. _

"_Since when did you care about __**anything**__ involving Amy?" _

_He sucked in a breath, tripping over whether he should mention his sightings. _

_In the end, he kept it to himself, "That's not fair. She's my friend. I do care." _

_Rouge sighed, turning around and pulled out her lip gloss. "Look, the Christmas party is coming up. There's no way Amy would miss it, so just find out whatever it is you want there. If she really doesn't show up, then Shadow might be there, and you can ask him."_

"_And if they both don't show up?" Sonic spat bitterly, a feeling of exhaustion purging into him. Although, somehow, he knew it was from seeing her—seeing Amy like that, with that tired face and the grimy hands. It disturbed him more than he cared to admit. _

_Rouge's eyes met his in the mirror, gleaming suspiciously. "Well, then there's your answer." _

And now he had it. Not the answer Rouge had been suggesting, although Sonic felt rather apprehensive at the close proximity of the two hedgehogs and the position he had found them in, but the real answer nonetheless.

He wanted to throw up.

All this time, saving her and having her chase after him and laughing with her and he—he never knew something like this?! What kind of a friend did he call himself? What kind of a _hero_ did he call himself?

"A-Amy…" He choked on his words, and he was surprised at the tears in her eyes.

"Oh, _oh Sonic_, please don't look at me like that." Her voice cracked and for the first time in his life, Sonic wanted to hide. Hide and burn from a shame he never knew and had never felt before. How—how could he have let this happen to her? That tired look and those scratched hands and _he never knew- _

She backed into the comfort of Shadow, and for one dreaded moment, Sonic feared that Shadow—_Shadow the Hedgehog_—might actually know. Know about this. Know about Amy, when he, Sonic the Hedgehog, did not.

"I just…" Her eyes, scared and lost, passed over all of them and this was Amy Rose and he had never seen her look this before and Sonic felt something crack within him. This was supposed to be Amy Rose that ran after him in a red laser dress and chased him to the ends of the earth. Strong, confident, loud Amy Rose. How could they make her look like that?! Make her look so small and frightened and-?!

And then her hand tightened around Shadow's and something powerful and vibrant burned in her eyes. "I want you all to know that this shouldn't change anything!"

She met every one of their eyes—Tails, Rouge, Espio, Knuckles, Cream, on and on—and she never looked more beautiful. "Just because of this, I—I'm still me! I'm still Amy Rose! I work hard to earn a living and in my free time I like to join my hero Sonic the Hedgehog on adventures! I like helping Tails out with his machines even though I'm not the best at it and I sometimes make brownies for Knuckles because I assume he likes them! I have tea parties with Cream and-" She smiled back at her stronghold, "I like to talk to Shadow the Hedgehog!"

She blazed within the room. "Nothing has changed! If any of you treat me any different, I'll—I'll never forgive you!"

The room held only sound to the cackling of the warm fire and the heavy breathing of Amy. He had never seen her like this before. Angry with vigor and passion and pride. He had seen her angry at him. He had seen her angry at Eggman. This was new.

She was stunning. She was tired. He saw grimy hands. He saw hours of work while he napped in meadows. He saw piles of gifts and he saw her thin form wrapped in nights of merciless cold and hunger.

He felt sick. He wanted to punch something.

Her eyes suddenly caught his, and she knew what he was going to do.

"Don't you _**dare**_." She warned him with a shuddering breath.

Tails stepped forward, "Amy-"

She whipped around, pointing a shaky finger at Tails. "No, don't-"

"You could've let-" Cream tried to speak, but Amy turned to her and stomped her foot. Green eyes grew more desperate and desperate as _they_ clawed at her.

Suddenly the rest begun to speak up, throwing at her everything she never wanted. Things she dreaded and made her sick to the bone and she tried at protests to stop them but suddenly they gained fervor and soon she couldn't hold them.

She looked at him with one last attempt. "Please, _please_ don't, Sonic. Don't do it."

"Amy…" He couldn't. He couldn't hold it. "I'm _sorry_."

That was the last. She burst out of there with a speed Sonic never knew she had and he would've followed her, they all would've followed her, if guilt hadn't nailed their feet.

The only occupant in the room who stood coolly in indifference was Shadow, and it shook Sonic to the core.

"You…" His voice crawled weakly, "You _knew_?"

Shadow's hard gaze held him. "Yes."

Sonic felt icicles drop into his stomach. "How-how long?"

Shadow closed his eyes. "It doesn't matter."

The icicles melted into boiling silver. "How could it not-"

"What matters is that you understand what you'll put Amy through." His voice was strong, and just as Amy before him he was resilient. "What you'll _all_ put her through."

Wind chimes rang loudly within Sonic's ribcage. "What do you mean?"

"Amy has been holding herself up since she was a child. She might not have been in the best condition, but it is within the foundation, and within _that_ is her pride." The fire from the hearth reflected in his eyes. "It is what defines her. Your apologies attack her. Your offerings insult her in ways you cannot understand. It is not what you can do for her, but what you _mustn't_, if you intend to keep her happy."

They stared at him, astonishment and obscurity blending awkwardly around him.

"Shadow…" Sonic caught his opposite's gaze and felt the threat of being scalded. "Why are you saying this?"

Shadow stepped forward because more than anything, he would prove that he was more—would readily give more to Amy than Sonic ever could. "Because_ I_ intend to keep her happy, and if you claim to even acclaim a position to her, then you should as well. Otherwise, I'll deal with you swiftly."

And because he was Shadow the Hedgehog, he turned and left the room with a respected and mysterious walk, leaving and always leaving a cataclysm of emotions in his wake.

* * *

The night was beautiful in an embrace of snow and bright with the twinkling lights the locals had hung on lamp posts and trees. To accommodate with its beauty, the night upheld a status of absolute cold, and Shadow would be that man that wanted to watch the world burn under a swirling hot flame of the roaring sword belonging to the despicable, dreaded Demon King.

Shadow really, really hated the cold.

But it was her and there was no way his hatred would divert him.

It might've been that he cared a little too much. It was too late now, though. He was in too deep.

He found her under the wide sheath of a broad pine tree, plenty in lights yet dim to a comforting dull. Her eyes caught his and they were magnificent and she didn't need an invitation and so he caught her just like always caught her and just like he always will and she kissed him beautifully.

She put her arms through the holes of his jacket, entwining herself to him. "I didn't handle that very well, huh?"

Her breath mingled in clouds. She sought comfort in his warmth and he readily gave it to her, pulling her closer till no air could space them. He blew on her ear and she sneezed. "I thought you did rather well."

She glared at him, but it she was searching and he wouldn't lie to her and she loved that about him. "I couldn't handle it."

"You did exactly what you went there to do." He brushed a strand away from her face.

"They-…" She swallowed a mountainous lump, "They wouldn't stop apologizing. They kept saying they'd give me-"

"They won't." He sniffed the sweet cinnamon of her hair.

She peered up at him suspiciously, but he beat her to any words. "It doesn't matter. Those who approach you in that manner after today don't matter. What matters is that things are going to get much better."

"They'll never look at me the same again." Amy whined miserably.

He spoke passionately, "And it's unfair if you expect them to."

She sighed and nodded and simply lay there in his arms because it was the only place she knew nothing could touch her. She honestly didn't know what she would do without him. It wasn't like the world would stop turning, or the clouds would shoot lasers in her despair, but she knew that the feeling of disorientation that she felt now by only _thinking_ of his absence would be multiplied a hundredfold, and it frightened her to think of such a feeling.

She held him tighter and breathed him in. She decided she never wanted to let go.

"You think… you think this will get out?" She asked hesitantly.

"Your friends will stay quiet." He breathed out slowly, soaking in the heat of her fur as a shield from the cold.

"Shadow…" She nuzzled his neck affectionately.

"Hm?" He muttered softly, his voice dying out in the wind.

"I'm hungry." She laughed at herself and pulled back, meeting his eyes.

"Do you want to go back?" He brushed a thumb across her temple. She lifted her hand and pressed his palm against her cheek, and he felt his lungs melt into his stomach.

"No, let's go somewhere else. Just you and me." She smiled brilliantly and she was beautiful and so he promised her the night.

* * *

Things had been hard. Sonic avoided her because he couldn't handle looking her in the eyes and the rest wouldn't leave her alone and giving her pitying stares.

She hated it all.

Shadow told her to be patient, but it wasn't easy.

At the very least, she could breathe a little at the fact that no one confronted her about it. While Cream visits with food often and Tails calls her to check up on her status, no one offered her money and above all she was grateful.

She knew they cared and that made it bearable.

Still…

"He won't even talk to me." Amy whined, rolling on the floor. She rolled till she hit his feet and looked up his towering form with wide, green eyes, "He hates me, doesn't he?"

Shadow sighed out of annoyance and put his foot on her stomach, pressing down till she squealed, "Stop being stupid."

She glared at him, but he couldn't help it. He could never help it whenever she talked about Sonic. He hated Sonic before he had Amy and now that Shadow had Amy he would forever hate Sonic for slipping his name into any aspect of his life.

Amy abruptly pulled on his leg, surprising him as he went crashing down on her, but she didn't care and wrapped her arms around his neck as his form crushed her.

"Amy, what are you-?!" He tried to lift himself from her, but he fell into silence as she gently kissed his ear.

"Thank you, Shadow…" He sucked in a breath, leaning back enough to look into her eyes, worry breaking one of his ribs at the tears in her eyes.

"Amy…?"

She smiled a watery smile at him, pulling him down so she could press her cheek against his. "For not turning me away. For still seeing me after knowing."

He knew how much this mattered to her, and he cared about her too much to let any of those tears fall. With a sigh, he knew he'd have to say it, if only to ease her heart.

"You have to go find Sonic." Her eyes widened. Her breath came out fast.

"Wh-what?"

"Sonic has a hero complex. He most likely won't approach you because he feels as if he has failed you. Rather than getting off his fat head and doing something about it, he's sulking and hiding in his shame."

Amy released something hybrid of a laugh and a cry. "I don't want him to help me."

"Amy, he cares about you just as the rest of them care about you. They can't help but want to help you. You would feel the same had the situation been on the other end." Shadow sighed.

He left her to contemplate this, instead rolling beneath her so she would lie on him instead. Time had flitted beneath them, but letting time pass by in each other's presence was not atypical to them. To Amy, this was equivalent to a date. Shadow was not a person who harrowed to the movie theatres and she would always feel self-conscious regarding the money. His way of merely being with her was more than enough to sate her.

Besides, Shadow tended to be more affectionate when they were alone, and she couldn't get enough of the tender side she once hadn't believed existed.

"So the only solution is that I find a way to rely on them without relying on them." Shadow opened his eyes, his eyebrows furrowing at her incredulous stare.

"Could you even _attempt_ to make that sentence more logical?" She glared at him, poking him in the chest.

"I mean, the only way I can make them feel better is if I rely on them, but the only way I'll be happy with myself is if I don't." Amy elaborated, and Shadow took full satisfaction in the fact that her eyes began to narrow at the incredulity of her statement. "Just… how…?"

She eyed him imploringly. "Come up with something."

Shadow yawned, shifting their entangled legs and tucking his hands underneath his head. "Then maybe you could bring on something out of an establishment."

Amy blinked. "An establishment? What on earth would I do with that?"

"The fox makes machines and contributes to science, so he is fair off. The echidna is funded in the protection of the jewel. Perhaps an establishment is in order, on your case." Amy might not have known it, but Shadow had been thinking greatly on this for weeks—thinking of ways to get Amy on her feet. Find a way to get a steady, fruitful income for her without generally interfering.

He glanced at her, inwardly smiling at the newfound flame in her eyes. He had planted the seed.

"An establishment, huh…" …all that was left to do was wait.

* * *

"Rouge, are you sure about this?" Amy's head poked out of the dresser, uncertainly seeking approval from her companion.

The bat left the bathroom with curling iron in hand, addressing the hedgehog. "What are you doing? Come on, show me!"

Amy stepped out of the dresser, timidly and cautiously aware at the amount of skin and fur exposed by this dress. "I-I can't wear something like _this_!"

Rouge clapped her hands, clicking her tongue in disappointment, "Why not?! Look at you, doll! That red dress really never did you any justice."

Rouge urged the hedgehog towards the mirror and Amy blushed, her eyes immediately finding the bareness of her thighs and her collar bone. "Bu-But Rouge! I'm an inch away from a panty show!"

Amy tugged the end of the skirt down, but it valiantly refused, and Rouge pestered her to stop. "That's the beauty of it, doll. Just look at ya, none of the boys will be able to hold onto their shoes—and I bet Sonic'll nosebleed from this."

Amy frowned, blatantly finding the zipper of the dress and stripping down. "That won't do anyone any good. Besides, it's not like this is for Sonic in the first place. Shadow would have such a hissy fit if anything like that happened."

Rouge blinked, watching as Amy disappeared back into the wardrobe. "That's right… so you and Shadow really are a thing, huh? And after all that running after Sonic…"

A clang resounded as a hanger fell out, and the pink hedgehog reached towards it. "I don't think there's anything else to it."

Rouge sat down on one of the cushioned chairs, observing the young hedgehog. "It's just, well, who would've thought? You and Shadow—and the surprising thing is that you two go really great together. I'm kind of irritated."

Amy looked up, meeting the bat's stare, but at the annoyed expression she received Amy found herself able to smile warmly. "Thank you, Rouge."

The bat scoffed, leaning her head back and studied the posters of celebrities she had stuck on the ceiling. "I think I have a really nice orange summer dress in there."

Amy blinked, turning back to the wardrobe. "Orange. Got it."

She disappeared into it and Rouge heard the familiar shuffle of clothing. "Amy?"

"Mm-yeah?" She hollered back.

"Does Sonic know?" The shuffling stopped. Rouge watched the closet, sucking in a quick intake of breathe when the pink hedgehog stepped out. The auburn dress consisted of several overlapping loose cloths, falling gently down onto the knees. It was such a modest, billowy dress, so unlike Rouge's style that the bat herself questioned why she had bought it in the first place, but on Amy, she had captured such a gentle, virtuous look.

"That is… a real killer." Rouge eyed the hedgehog in pride and envy. "Just keep the dress, I don't think I could stand looking at it again, knowing someone else already looks better in it than I do."

Amy's cheeks flushed and her eyes shined radiantly, "Really?"

Rouge smiled warmly. "Yeah, go ahead and keep it, kiddo."

The bat blinked in surprise when the hedgehog leaped on her with a squeal and a hug, but she took it in happily and patted the younger girl on the head.

To be honest, Amy and Rouge we're never really ever close. At least, not too much on friendship terms, but after finding out about Amy, Rouge had found a groundwork, not out of pity, but rather in sympathy. Rouge knew what it had been like to be in Amy's state. At around the same age she was also in the exact same position—with no money and terrible jobs. She had nights on the street and nights without food. In the end, though, Rouge had given up pride and taken up larceny to get herself by, whereas Amy refused to do so.

Still, Rouge saw herself in Amy and somehow she became fond of the little hedgehog.

"I think he knows." Rouge blinked, peering at Amy, curious as to the guilty look that had consumed the girl's smile. "He's probably suspicious. I've never said anything directly to him, but…"

"What's with that look?" Rouge poked the girl in the cheek. Amy blinked, her eyebrows drawing closer.

"What look?"

"That. You have shame on that. Why is it there?" Rouge cocked a brow and Amy sighed.

"It's… I guess it's kind of stupid but… I am happy with Shadow, happier than I've ever been, and I don't think I've done anything wrong… it's not like Sonic and I we're ever really together… but it's just that I kind of feel like I _betrayed_ Sonic."

Rouge scoffed, "Why on earth would you think that?"

Amy's lip quivered. "When I finally went to talk to him after he'd been avoiding me for so long, he—he looked so hurt. He a-asked me who knew first, and-and—and when I to-told him it was S-Shadow-"

"No-no, honey-don't cry!" Rouge rushed forth with a tissue, cleaning up the fallen traces of mascara, but Amy couldn't stop.

"R-Rouge, he was so angry at the end of all of it! I tr-tried to t-talk but he w-wouldn't let me and he just s-stormed off. I've never s-s-seen him like this! I didn't think-I didn't-" Amy hiccupped, choking on her own words. Her arms hung limply, her hands trembling. "He h-_hates_ me!"

Rouge gave up and trying to save any make-up and instead picked up a washcloth, settling for redoing the whole thing. "He doesn't hate you, Amy. He's just jealous."

"Jea-… _Jealous_?" Her green eyes were big and watery with tears and she looked so sad and pathetic it irked Rouge. She couldn't stand depressed people, and she didn't like crybabies. Still, she swallowed down her habitual annoyances and wiped away the streaming tears.

"Of course. He's a guy, and more than that, he's the egoistical Sonic the hero. A hero, Amy. He's used to it, and a little more than that, he's used to being _your_ hero." Rouge sighed and nudged the trash bin closer with her leg, throwing away the ruined cloth. Taking her gaze back to Amy, she couldn't help wincing at the dark bags carried under the young hedgehog's eyes, revealed under the absence of the shielding make-up. "It's hard for him, in a sense. He's always thought that he'd been rescuing you, when in truth he'd been blind to what was really happening."

"But-"

"More than not him knowing, Amy, is that Shadow had been there for you instead of him—had done what he didn't, and more than all of this must be the feeling that he has failed you."

Amy sniffled. "Shadow said something similar to that."

Rouge blinked but let it rest. She couldn't say she knew Shadow anyway, not anymore at least. "Give Sonic his time, Amy. He'll come around eventually. Let's just focus on stopping these tears and fixing your makeup all over again. How on earth did you cover these, though…"

Amy swallowed, "Oh-I-I have my own makeup."

She got up, stepping towards her bag, her sniffles echoing pitifully. Rouge followed, curious as to what the hedgehog was going on about. "You _have makeup_?"

Amy pulled out a tissue, blowing into it. "Of course. How else could I look fine without any of you noticing?"

Rouge blinked. "Well, yeah, I was wondering about that…"

One by one, Amy pulled out jarred contents, and Rouge stepped forward, picking a strange purple looking one and curiously observing it.

"What brand is this? It doesn't have a label."

Amy looked up, her eyes tinged red. "Oh, um, it's not-I-I make it myself."

Rouge's eyes widened. "You _make_ it?"

Amy shifted uncomfortably under Rouge's scrutinizing stare. "Well, umm, y-yeah, since I can't really afford make-up but I… I didn't want any of you to see me like that so… there's this old spot in a bit ways from the Dry Lagoon that has lots of those weird smelling flowers and plants. I got curious and tried some… well, actually I accidentally rubbed on this powder stuff and it gave me a burning rash and I ended up tripping on this mushroom and it spewed white mush which sorta formed this second skin. I scratched it off and the skin under was really soft and clear. I got interested and studied stuff in the public libraries about shrubbery and… yeah. Afterwards I started mixing stuff up and trying them. It's r-really useful and umm…"

She wasn't sure how to go on and her cheeks burn in embarrassment.

Rouge just kept on staring, a strange look sparking in her features. Amy fidgeted, unsure of what to expect.

"Show me." Rouge whispered.

Amy blinked, "Huh?"

"Put it on." Rouge's voice was louder now. "It works, doesn't it?"

Amy peered at her pile of assortments, looking back to Rouge and having her heart trip at the grave look the bat was giving her. Slowly, she reached for the first jar and began the routine of hiding away the aftermath of fatigue. Rouge stepped beside her, watching as the hedgehog worked in the mirror and erased all traces of work as if magic.

Once Amy's face was clear, and to its recognizable self, Rouge finally broke out. "Amy… Amy… that's… that's _amazing_!"

Amy blushed, "It's jus-"

Rouge cut her in, her voice catching a fervent pitch. "No! No it's not 'just'! Amy! This is incredible! You researched plants out of books and then somehow used _that_ to make a formula of concealers and foundations!"

The rose hedgehog smiled bashfully. "Thank you, Ro-"

Amy abruptly stopped when Rouge suddenly threw her hands onto the younger hedgehog's small shoulders. "No, Amy! Don't you understand?!"

Blink. Twice. "Understand what?"

"You could do something with this! You could _sell_ them!"

Amy frowned. "I can't. No one would buy brand-less make-up from some poor girl off the street."

Rouge did not falter; a budding excitement burgeoning within her. "At G.U.N, Susan the Lieutenant! Her niece is the co-founder of _Beauty and Couture_! If I could get you a meeting and she sees this, Amy, it'll be the end to all your troubles!"

The bat saw uncertainty and pride collide within the pink hedgehog, but there was no way she'd let Amy pass this up. Not when she could have the chance.

She forced the hedgehog to look into her eyes. "I know what you're thinking, but you can't let this pass by, Amy. You don't get a thousand opportunities a lifetime!"

Rouge waved towards the assortment of make-up. "Look at this, Amy! You can't let it go to waste! And it's not like I'll go through that much trouble to set it up. In the end, it's all you. It's like… depending on me, but not… if that makes sense."

Amy's eyes began to shine. "So… it's like I'm making an establishment."

Rouge grinned. "Exactly."

* * *

Amy didn't whether to choke or laugh or scream or cry. All she could do was stumble out of the building, her sight disoriented at the real world.

But this was the real world. It wasn't a dream.

And there he was, waiting outside for her. With a shrill scream accompanied by some tears, she jumped into his arms and chocked on laughter, so happy that she sandwiched his cheeks between her hands and smashed her lips into his face.

He pulled back, blinking numbly. "I assume things went well."

She grinned and kissed him again because she could not contain herself. "They loved it. The whole board loved it. By next month a _Rose Complexion_ franchise will start, and with their help it's going to be a hit."

She bounced a little.

"And that's not all!" He caressed her cheek, a small smile breaking through at her bursting excitement. "They want me in the Research Department, and the co-founder offered me tuition at one of their branches as a degree towards botany!"

She squealed again, hugging him tightly, so filled with ecstasy she began crying.

_Things will be different..._

* * *

_Epilogue..._

* * *

Amy hummed merrily to herself, strolling her cart along the aisle and stopping hungrily amongst the row of sweets.

"Taffy, taffy, taffy…" She giggled to herself, picking candy at random and throwing them carelessly into her bag. This was the highest liberty she enjoyed with the stable life of money and prosperity she had—the liberty to buy as much candy as she wanted.

Things had been great. They'd been great for a good thirteen years.

Amy Rose's life was much different than it had been. After the line of her product began, it had been such a smashing hit and the company's stock skyrocketed. She had made a great contract with _Beauty and Couture_, and with her new finance she had begun attending school and special classes, taking many courses involving plant biology and the like. Over the years, she had majored in biochemistry, and became an active scientist in testing and creating formulas for make-up and concealments.

"That's a little much, don't you think?" Amy blinked, spinning to her right, a smile blooming on her face.

"Sonic!" She greeted the blue hedgehog with a warm hug, and he laughed heartily.

"Eat all that sugar, Ames, and we might have to set _animal control_." She grinned up at him.

"Har-har-you thought that was funny? Laugh now, hedgehog, but soon my plans for world domination will be complete." He laughed and ruffled her hair affectionately, which she promptly punched him in the arm for.

"Don't do that!" She squealed, fixing the misplaced strands. He only laughed again, his green eyes twinkling mirthfully. Looking at Sonic now, he was a lot different than he had been before.

Within the beginning of the thirteen years, a bit after he had found out about her, Sonic had taken a 180 degree. He had become angry and miserable, and nothing his friends tried would cheer him up. It had taken quite a few encounters before Amy beat some decent sense into him. After crying for so long over how his attitude changed towards her, she had become livid at the fact that he was treating _everyone else_ differently as well. She wasn't going to swallow down the image of some pathetic Sonic who felt too sorry for himself because he couldn't save her in replacement to the bright and shining hero who ran through the day with a carefree smile.

Something had changed in Sonic. A little after that, on some gloomy morning, Sonic had come up to her with powerful words and promise that broke daylight.

"_I know I didn't save you before. I never really did, but I'm done fooling myself, and I'm done being sorry about it. I'm going to change things. Not just for you, but for me, too. I promise you that, Amy."_

What had Sonic done?

He had become a social worker.

After rearranging his whole understanding of the term 'hero', he had decided that a title like that couldn't be bestowed on him until he deserved it. Becoming quite self-conflicted, he started paying more attention to the world. Out of his desperate realizations, he began to notice the other people, people in need like she was. Not in the robot attacking me-sort-of-way, but rather, in the aftermath and in between. People too sick to keep themselves up, orphans with bleak lives, homeless wanderers with no futures—Sonic began helping them all. He had announced that he wasn't going to keep a blind eye to things anymore, not in the way he had with her. He began devoting his life to charities and social jobs, taking the riches he gained from his previous successes, and in the end, he had built his name quite a title.

He wasn't Sonic the Hedgehog, a flashy hero who could beat up a robot. No, he was Sonic the Hedgehog, a _real_ hero, and the number of lives he'd saved over the years, lives he'd truly saved, brought tears to his admirers.

She was really proud of him.

"So what project are you working on right now?" She piped cheerfully, rolling her cart. He fell in place next to her, examining the cereal boxes.

"I was thinking of starting a Hand for Hand program. Remember how I told you about those two brothers living in the alley together? The ones who take turns finding food for each other? I'm planning on working on a new soup kitchen/living quarter sort of thing that could take in shifts for the homeless, giving them a decent minimum wage with alternations in shifts and a place to sleep. If I start a branch of those, than I think we can worry a little less about having to spot anyone sleeping on a sidewalk." He spoke passionately, and Amy smiled, listening him prattle on and on. He tended to get carried away, but she let him be. She was just too happy for him. He genuinely enjoyed his job, and he had finally come into terms with her. They had become much greater friends over the years.

"You saw the news, right?" Amy began unloading her things at the cashier, and Sonic leapt in to help. "You saw Cream?"

Sonic nodded. "Yeah, she just cut through on that Broker case. She was amazing, figuring the whole thing out."

Cream had changed, too. During the time when everyone was adjusting from the shock of Amy's truth, Cream did not fully understand the extent of the situation. She understood the financial limitation, but she had never realized beyond it. Sonic saw that he couldn't save Amy, saw the fatigue and hungry nights she spent. He had wanted to save her from that. He looked at it from one side. Cream, who Amy hadn't realized at that time, began looking at the other—the side in the fact that Amy—caring, innocent Amy who did no wrong had to suffer from walking through crime-riddled streets and crooked bosses. She had once followed Amy to her work at some bar, and saw the danger in the cracks of the sidewalks, and more than that, an employer permitting a young minor to hand out alcohol.

Cream saw the absolute _wrongness_ of it all.

From that, she built a sense of righteousness. Cream became a cop.

'_A badass one, too, apparently.' _Cream's cases were very famous, and the rabbit had a magnet for danger. Just a bit more fame and producers might make a show out of her.

Amy pulled out her wallet, eyeing Sonic warningly, giving him a very clean hint to keep his hand down. Although he knew how much financial independence meant to her, he sometimes couldn't swallow down his gentleman ways, so for that she would forgive him. She'd have to punch him if he really did pay for her, though.

"You don't have to give me such a death glare."

Amy scoffed, passing through the sliding doors. "If I don't then you'll go through with it."

Sonic simply grinned, his footsteps in sync with hers. "I'll walk you home."

Amy smiled, elbowing him in the rib. "I can take care of myself, you know. My hammer will give more beatings than Eggman's ever received."

Sonic laughed and threw his arm over her shoulder, hugging her to him. "You know, he still won't give me vacancy. He has a wall with my face on it and a fat 'X'."

Amy giggled. After Sonic had started taking up more of the charity life, it became harder to plot schemes to end a guy who was reading to blind orphans. You couldn't charge in on anything Sonic did anymore without looking like the lowest of scum, even in Eggman's standards. The doctor hadn't given up, of course. His ideas began to get more creative and more ludicrous till one day he stumbled upon a plan to lure Sonic into a hotel and get him there, so Eggman built the Egg Resort. It was meant for Sonic, but the place turned out to be a smashing hit. People couldn't get enough of the robots and futuristic machinery. Soon, with time of Sonic's refusal to show up and business crashing through the roof, the prospect of holding up the hotel business began to override the initial scheme to capture Sonic.

Eggman had become a hotel manager.

The air was cold with autumn and Amy's nose twitched irritably. "I could go for some hot cocoa right now."

Amy nodded to herself, mumbling a conversation of ingredients. "Do I even have… wait, yes I do… yeah… _marshmellowssss_…"

Sonic smiled beneath his scarf, stealing glances at her.

Her home came into a view, a simple two-story house in a quiet neighborhood. Amy bounced, hopping forth and greedily crunching leaves and fresh snow beneath her feet. She turned back to him with an open smile.

"Definitely making that hot cocoa. You wanna come in?" Sonic blinked, eyes drawing over to the house. He stepped forward temptingly, but then halted, deciding otherwise.

"Nah, I have to get to some things. You enjoy it, though." Sonic threw a grin at her, flashing an open smirk at the curtains, instinctively knowing what was behind them.

Amy blinked before rolling her eyes. It was probably for the best anyway. She waved him off as he sped away before turning to her home, launching towards the door and making her way inside. Warmth of the heaters caressed her fur, and she sighed with the comfort it brought and carelessly dropped her groceries by the door, procrastinating in their arrangement.

She made her way into the kitchen, laughing a little at the scowl on his face. He always got that way, especially when Sonic was around. It got a bit irritable at times, but she was in too much of a good mood. Ignoring his scowl, she cupped his face and kissed his cheek.

"I missed you." She smiled at his frown. Shadow could act as mature as he wanted, there were always the times like these when he became an unreasonable six-year-old boy.

This time she gently pressed her lips against his, and it didn't take him long to respond. His hands overlapped hers before sliding to her neck, pulling her in deeper. She felt the heaters try to keep up with the warmth he was pouring into her.

He pulled back and she rested her forehead against his. Smiling brilliantly, she brushed her lips against his. "I love you."

He pulled her back in more fervently and she readily molded against him, griping his shoulders as a crutch to keep herself up. When he was satisfied and assured she would probably no longer be able to think, he separated, catching his breath. She blinked a little sleepily, the heat getting to her head. "I was… ahh… going to make… some… hot chocolate. You want?"

He kissed her forehead and shook his head, so she simply smiled and continued on her merry way.

As she passed by the counter, her eyes washed over the heap of papers scattered over the island. Picking one up, she began reading the lines, her other hand working mechanically on making the hot chocolate.

"Careful with that." Shadow warned, eyeing the hot, dark, staining liquid.

Amy's eyes furrowed, not really paying attention to him. "This isn't your usual fantasy novels."

Shadow curled his hand around the cup, pulling it away from her, but she was too absorbed in the writing to notice.

"And it seems rather… familiar." Amy's eyebrow cocked when she finally realized where the next story was being pulled out of. "Isn't this a bit off your field?"

She waved the story at him. "And were you planning on telling me that you were chronicling my life?"

He stepped forward, smiling a bit at her suspicious gaze. "You told me to write as I pleased."

"Yes, as in let the bottled up creativity flow and stuff. Make your holed-up stories of merry, crazy worlds come to life. This is different. This is about _me_."

He brushed the hair away from her face. "Actually, it's about me."

She paused, her eyes falling on the rest of the papers. She read bits and lines, and with acknowledgement she realized that the stories were about her, but it was from his point of view. How many times had she wondered what he was thinking? This was the first time he'd ever written anything so personal.

He kissed her forehead. "I won't publish it, if you don't want me to."

She looked back at him, searching his face. "Why would you write something like this anyway?"

He leaned down, letting his lips envelop her pulse. He felt the blood rush wildly beneath his mouth, the distant call of her heartbeat resounding within his ear. "Last week… when you were cleaning your wardrobe… I saw that orange dress…"

Amy's lids fluttered for a moment. "The… the orange dress?"

Ah, wait. _The orange dress_. Rouge had given her the thing _years_ ago. They had gone to the barbeque together and although she wasn't expecting Shadow to arrive, he did, and in front of the whole world did she feel a burst of confidence and leap on him with a laugh and kiss his stunned face.

"I… remembered…" He was losing himself in the warm fur of her neck.

She abruptly grabbed his forearms, startling him. "Wait, wait, wait… you felt nostalgic when you saw the orange dress and that lead you to write a story of your perspective on my previous situation."

"I had never completely understood you, your optimism despite your poverty. It didn't make sense to me—you weren't like the rest of the world." He kissed her jaw. "If there was ever anything I wanted to write about, it's you."

Damn. How was she supposed to deny him now?

Somehow between the years, amongst Shadows flurry of criticisms on every young adult story he read, Amy had burst out with a: _"If you think you can do better, then maybe you should write one."_

And he did. She never thought he would, but he actually wrote a story, got it published, and it was a giant success. Shadow had a giant, imaginative world behind the menacing glare he usually gave everyone.

Shadow became a very renowned (although he did have the distinct pleasure of using a pseudonym. In exact words, he didn't want to deal with interviews with 'stupid people with no sense of creativity') author for fantasy novels with several flourishing series, as opposed to remaining a G.U.N agent as she had initially expected him to be.

She pursed her lips. "Fine, _fine_. If you make me look stupid, I'll kill you."

He smiled at her, giving her an affectionate nip. She huffed. She couldn't even be _annoyed_ at him when he got like this. Shadow always managed to steal her seat of anger before she even sat on it.

"I better go put these away." She mumbled hotly, smiling a little slyly, breaking away as she began assorting the bags. He went back to the counter, going on with scribbling notes on the various papers and typing on his laptop.

Amy busied herself with the bags, but something caught her eye. With a furtive glance at Shadow, checking to make sure he wasn't watching her, she quickly snatched the object away and ran up the stairs.

Locking herself in the bathroom, her eyes narrowing on the little thing that could change her life, she took a deep breath and felt the quiver of the hot chocolate within her stomach.

It had been a long time since she had anticipated change.

* * *

She threw herself on the bed sheets, cuddling up to the warm blankets.

"Come upstairs!" She hollered out the door. She heard his grunt down in the kitchen.

"I don't care if you're on a roll or whatever. It's late! Come to bed!" She rotated on the bed, curling her toes in giddiness. "I'll start singing pop sings with an Italian accent!"

She heard the rustle of paper and laughed. She had the worst Italian accent; add that to the fact that she couldn't sing either, and Shadow hated pop songs.

After he had finally settled beside her, resting his arm behind his head as a sheath against the wooden headboard, she swayed over on his belly, smiling broadly at him. He gave her a questioning glance, raising his brow.

"Pink's a nice color, right?" He blinked.

"Okay."

She frowned and poked him in the hip. "It's a nice color!"

"You're pink."

She rolled her eyes, leering at him. "Exactly."

His eyebrows furrowed, his eyes regarding her curiously.

She clicked her tongue. "You know what else is pink?"

He really had no idea where this was going, so he couldn't help when his arm went slack and his head crashed against the dashboard.

Pink.

_Pink_.

She waved the little stick in his face with the biggest grin he'd ever seen. He hadn't seen a smile as big as that since she walked out of the _Beauty and Couture_ building with a new future ahead of her.

_**Pink**_.

"Say something so I don't start freaking out." He noticed she began fidgeting, and he realized that he'd been silent and unmoving this whole time.

He took the stick from her hand, inspecting it closer. Peeking at her, he took note of the worrisome look she began to carry.

"Yes, well…" How in the world he managed to hold that smile, he didn't know. "I suppose pink is a nice color."

A grin burst on her face as she threw her arms around his neck and planted a giant smooch on his face. He held her tightly, leaving enough space to peer at her abdomen.

She rolled her eyes. "It's not actually, you know, _there_. Or at least, it's just a little fertilized egg for now."

She giggled when he probed at her stomach, rolling off of him, but he was just as quick to intercept her and grabbed her before she could put distance between them.

"No! N-no! Shad~_ooow_! _Stop_!" She giggled insanely, thrashing wildly as he jabbed mercilessly at her sides.

After a while of failed attempts to get him to stop and her obtrusive begging, he finally halted and patiently waited for her to get off her laughing track.

An hour must have passed, but she did not sleep and neither did he, simply sitting in silence and absorbing in this new change. She lay on her side, studying the frost accumulated on the exterior window. Shadow curled against her back, his chest coat brushing the back of her neck, his arm draped over her hip and his hand playing with the fur of her naval.

"This is pretty big." She said finally, turning her head to look at him. He considered her face before resting his head on her cheek.

"Hn."

"One-worded syllables won't compensate as assurance on these terms." He brushed his lips along her nose.

"_These_ terms?"

She overlapped the hand he had on her stomach with hers. With a quivering voice of dread and excitement, she whispered, "Baby terms."

His arm curled tighter around her.

She inched back, snuggling against him from behind. "It'll be alright, I suppose."

She searched his face, and he gave her exactly what she needed to hear—the exact words that got her through everything. "I'll be there every step of the way."

She smiled, albeit tearfully, although she had no idea where the tears sprang up from.

"Go to sleep." He told her, and she sighed blearily, closing her eyes.

Things were going to change. A meteorite would hit them soon, most likely, but she knew that he'd pull her through it all. He'd been there since he saw her that one night at that bar, and accepted who she was when she told him, which at the time, was strange to her. She hadn't been seeking his acceptance, which was what made it so easy to tell him in the first place, but somehow his approval of her had given her a new strength.

She was so grateful to him.

She had also been strong in driving him insane. He had been strong in keeping ahold of her.

Although, he might have his work cut out for him with this new arrival. She could smell a rascal a mile away, and there was one building up right inside of her.

She smiled, held his hand tighter, and greeted the change.

* * *

I'm sure I'm not the only one who wonders what people on shows do during their off hours, and I decided to elaborate on that. More than just that, though, I wondered what it'd be like of one of the character's lives weren't what was expected. It could have been applied to anyone, I suppose, but I work best with Amy and Shadow.

It'd love feedback on the whole thing, especially on the way I developed Amy and Shadow's relationship. Criticism, of course, is welcome. There's always room to shove in a decent insult and get me determined enough to show your face how much better I can be :D

~Till the next one


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